NOTE:Maryland State government offices will be closed on the following Service Reduction Days:

·Friday, May 23, 2014

·Friday, August 29, 2014

·Wednesday, November 26, 2014

·Tuesday, December 24, 2014

·Tuesday, December 31, 2014

Please understand that these Service Reduction Days will affect service delivery. Processing of Child Care Subsidy applications and payments will be delayed, as well as Credentialing and Licensing determinations. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Office of Child Care (OCC) is responsible for licensing and inspecting all child care centers and family child care providers in Maryland. The Office of Child Care (OCC) also administers Maryland's subsidized child care program for working families and administers the state’s Child Care Credentialing System.

Visit OCC's online child care licensing inspection results site – www.CheckCCMD.org!The site offers detailed compliance findings from child care licensing inspections conducted since January 2011. The site may also be used to find licensed child care programs and providers, and to link to a wide range of information about early care and education in Maryland.

Click herefor the Division of Early Childhood Development's Child Health Issues portal page.
This page provides child health-related information
and Internet links for
parents, child care providers
and other early
childhood programs, and the general
community. Visit this page for updates on
preventing
the spread of the flu (including the
H1N1 influenza virus).

Click Here to access the Maryland Sex Offenders Registry (SOCEM), which is maintained by the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.In addition to providing detailed offender information, the site carries "amber alerts" for abducted children and an information/resource section for parents and educators on preventing and combating youth gangs.

Maryland law requires all child care facilities and family child care providers to have a written emergency preparedness plan. The plan must cover emergency situations that require evacuation, sheltering in place, or other protection of children, such as in the event of fire, natural disasters, or other threatening situations that may pose a health or safety hazard to all children in care, including those with disabilities. For more information regarding this law, click here.

For information on obtaining training to create the plan, click here to visit the Project Security Blanket website. This training is offered through the Chesapeake Child Care Resource Center and is funded by the Maryland State Department of Education. Training is available statewide and online.

Private agencies ("commercial fingerprinting services") are authorized by COMAR 12.15.05 to submit fingerprints directly to the Maryland Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) for the purpose of obtaining criminal history record checks. Electronic fingerprint applications produce fast, reliable background check results. At present, there are several private agencies certified by Maryland CJIS to provide LiveScan fingerprint services. They offer services at a variety of locations around the state. Click here for a list of these agencies and information about their services.